Pliny did it, Plutarch did it, Xenophon did it—in fact most ancient writers were incorrigible collectors of miscellany, lively anecdotes, and after-dinner jokes, says historian Philip Matyszak. In this collection of his own favorite stories, wisecracks, and trivia about ancient Greece and Rome, Matyszak creates an intriguing, quirky portrait of the classical world, in a fine compact volume with a ribbon marker and illustrations throughout. Here are humorous quips by the emperor Augustus and wry observations by the philosopher Socrates, accounts of ghastly crimes, incredible journeys, and bizarre military mishaps, like the Macedonians who rushed to storm the walls of a Greek city but found that their ladders were six feet too short.